Sending Email with AJAX: Developing the Client-Side Application Layer

Introduction

If you step back for a moment to the previous article of the series, you’ll probably recall that I wrote both the CSS rules and (X)HTML markup that rendered the corresponding user interface for the email program. This process was required to achieve the desired look and feel of each element included in the web document where the application will be run, which as you know was a really simple task, so it bears no further discussion.

Now, having created the basic front end for the email program, it’s time to leap forward and develop its client-side application layer. We'll do this by defining the complete set of JavaScript functions. These functions are tasked with adding the respective behaviors to each control button, along with providing the program with the ability to perform http requests in the background.

In consonance with my educational expectations, by the end of this article, you should have a clear understanding of how each module of the application works, in addition to expanding your grounding a little more in working with multiple XMLHttpRequest objects.

With the objectives of this tutorial already established, let’s move forward and start coding the behavior layer for this AJAX-driven email application. It’s going to be fun!